The recent fin thread got me reminiscing (WARNING! GEEZER NOSTALGIA ALERT!)
Don’t get me wrong: no one can deny that the invention of the fin box was a revolutionary development in surfboard technology, and one for which we should all thank our lucky stars. One thing I do kinda miss, though, is being able to watch boards cruise by on car-top racks and know at a glance who built them without ever seeing the logo. Here are just a few (please feel free to add others) of those “trademark” fin templates and tell-tale laminations from back in the days when ALL fins were glass-ons:
Having been just a grem back in the early '60s, I’d be curious to know from anyone who worked in the industry then: did most shops make their own fins or was anyone just making fins and selling them to the various shops?
Aloha Dropknee, I didn't get into factory work til late 60's when the short boards were the craze but it seems to me that we either made our own fin blanks and foiled them or bought fin blanks and foiled them. Maybe I missed some thing but can't remember ever buying a foiled fin but I do remember that a fin blank cost a whole $1.50.Also could get 5 gals of lam resin for a whopping $12 and that was from G&S in H.B.. That was post factory days when I was doing boards in my garage in H.B.I had 2 garages and 4 lam racks and after a day of framing homes I would be in there til 9PM. Must say the girl friend was not a happy camper but then again she always thought I going to be a Lawyer,Gag.Aloha,Kokua
The PIC of Sherri Hayley that I always remember was one in Surfer Magazine. She’s standing on the beach, dang near bustin’ out of her top while about a dozen surfers standing on a seawall behind her are utterly transfixed. You woulda thought there was a perfect set rollin’ through…
Another ‘surf chick’ from that same period who had amazing assets was Tanya Binning. I’m pretty sure she was Australian. While she didn’t appear in the US mags very much, her allure was obvious.
Hozit Sammy, When I got to Kauai in 73' Sherry was going with a friend named Russel Berklin in Anahola. She then met an Aussie and left Kauai with him and had some trouble in Thiaand for a few years. Back in the later 80's she and Russel showed up in my restaurant in Kapaa and we had a ball talking story. They weren't together again but had just come to Kauai for memories I guess. Haven seen or heard from either since but heard Russel was having some health problems a couple of years ago and living on Maui.
